The governor’s call to surrender unwanted guns netted State Police 150 handguns and 422 rifles and/or shotguns this past weekend in Albuquerque and another 684 at similar events around the state. It was the second buyback event hosted by the State Police as a part of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s crusade against gun violence in Bernalillo County. A previous event held in November netted 110 firearms but State Police ran out of gift cards promised as incentives to surrender weapons.
“This was another proactive event where people could voluntarily turn in unwanted guns as a means to help minimize gun violence, reduce suicides, accidental deaths, and injuries where guns are involved. State Police is committed to safeguarding every community we serve, and as such, we will continue to utilize every resource we have to reduce gun violence.” said Troy Weisler, Chief of the New Mexico State Police.
The governor has issued a series of executive orders using public health statutes to limit the carrying of firearms in parks and on playgrounds following the shooting death of an 11-year old outside Albuquerque’s Isotopes Park this past summer. In November, she added gun buyback events and a new dashboard tracking the number of gunshots detected in Albuquerque through Shotspotter technology and the number of firearms seized from schools.
This past summer, Albuqueruque Police disclosed that over 300 firearms had been stolen from homes, business and vehicles in the city in the first half of the year, with many later being traced to homicides or shooting scenes. The man accused of murdering Jackie Vigil, a Westside mother of two State Police officers, was killed with a gun stolen from vehicles, APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told KRQE News at the time. “He was looking for vehicles that had NRA or sportsmen-type stickers or decals on vehicles. He assumed that there would be guns in there that he could steal,” said Gallegos.
In total, State Police reported receiving 1,728 surrendered weapons during six events in locations across the state in November and January.